Support system and method for the management of beverages bars in points of sale

ABSTRACT

Support method for the management of beverages bars in points of sale connected to a data manager, including identifying a display container associated with a beverage preparation machine through a data tag placed in the display container; determining preparation of a recipe of a beverages through a first data control and acquisition module coupled to the beverage preparation machine, according to information associated with the data tag of the display container; counting time elapsed from start of the preparation of the beverage recipe; emitting an alarm from a second data control and acquisition module coupled to the display container to a message center, the alarm including messages for a need for a new preparation of the beverage recipe if content of the display container has expired depending on the time elapsed or is empty due to consumption of the beverage; and sending a notification to a mobile device if the messages have not been attended to in a given period of time.

RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 16/585,938, filed Sep.27, 2019, which is continuation of PCT/MX2017/000040, filed Mar. 31,2017, which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The technical field of the present invention is electrical, given thatit deals with a system that involves electrical sensors, digitalprocessing and control module, unfolding screen, wireless communicationsmodule, and data management and storage equipment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In certain points of sale where diverse products are sold, situationsgenerally arise that cause distraction to the personnel from the tasksthat they must carry out in order to maintain the freshness,presentation and stock of products of high rotation, an example of whichare hot beverages like coffee, tea and other similar beverages, where itmust be monitored that there is enough product displayed, with adequatefreshness and maintain stocks of the supplies. In some cases, wherecoffee is prepared to be displayed in thermic containers, it must beavoided that it exceeds its expiration time of freshness andtemperature, that there is purified water to supply the coffee maker,that every type of flavor of the beverage is deposited in the containerthat corresponds to it and to place the containers in their displayplaces. This group of activities must frequently be carried out at thesame time as is carried out the cleaning of the shop, replenishment ofother products, arrangement, customer service, among others, whichcauses the personnel to forget to prepare new beverages to refill thecontainers, or the customers to carry expired product that discreditsits quality, which provokes subsequent loss of sales. Additionally,keeping an exact record of the sale of this class of products or of itswastage is a complicated labor; as is knowing what quantity of productto display to reduce wastage. Systems exist that help the shop personnelto organize their labors based on lists of tasks that are sent outdynamically, however, they are not adaptive in real time nor do theydetect when the product displayed in a container runs out.

The patent application No. US 20100280895 A1 entitled “Food andbeverages ordering, preparation, management and pricing system andmethod” mentions a system that permits the client to order a beverageaccording to their requirements of nutritional value and attached to anexisting list of possible ingredients, this offers a partial solution tothe mentioned problems.

The U.S. Pat. No. 7,512,546 B2 entitled “Store system” mentions a systemof management of shops that has a screen that shows instructions for thepersonnel and allows to record audio as memos of pending tasks orobservations during their realization. This doesn't offer adaptabilityto non-programmed events or events which require direct observation,which doesn't diminish the complexity of the personnel's dailyrealization of tasks.

The US Pat. No. 20040215521 entitled “Beverage dispensing system andapparatus” mentions a beverage vending machine that has an informationsystem that detects when one of the ingredients runs out warning thesuppliers in order that it is replenished.

The present invention proposes a system that helps the personnel of theshop to reduce the level of attention that they need to dedicate to thebeverages bar through a sensor set, a control system, a data base, adisplay and communications that send out dynamically the tasks that arerequired to be done based on the sale, product expiration, the provisionof supplies, detection of the type of container to avoid undesirablecross of products and provides dynamic recipe change without theintervention of personnel.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The characteristic details of this new Support System and Method for theManagement of Beverages Bars in Points of Sale, are shown clearly in thefollowing description and in the accompanying drawings, following thesame reference signs to indicate the parts and the figures shown. Saidfigures are described briefly:

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a diagram of the architecture of the system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram operation coffee maker—beverage displaycontainer—message center.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to FIG. 1 Support System for the Management of BeveragesBars in Points of Sale is composed of:

-   -   Data manager (1)    -   Message center (2)    -   Data control and acquisition modules (3)    -   Mobile device (4)    -   Fixed device (5)    -   Data base (6)    -   Coffee maker (7)    -   Display container (8)    -   Water supply device (9)    -   Filter holder (10)    -   Freshness screen (11)    -   Temperature sensor (12)    -   Liquid level sensor (13)    -   Data tag (14)        The operation of the Support System for the Management of        Beverages Bars in Points of Sale works based on registering and        giving responses to events generated by the data control and        acquisition modules (3) installed internally in beverage        preparation machines and product display containers (8), located        in different points of sale. Each data control and acquisition        module (3) obtains data from the different sensors and detectors        periodically generating the communication sequence with the data        manager (1), which is responsible of registering data, including        date and time data in its database (6); additionally the data        manager channels the data that it receives from each data        control and acquisition module (3) sending it to another of the        data control and acquisition modules with the purpose of        generating control commands and/or for the mobile device (4)        and/or for the fixed device (5) such as alarms, statistical        information or operation values in real time. Each time that a        data control and acquisition module (2) establishes        communication with the data manager (1) to verify what pending        messages and commands it has, it is able to update its code and        the beverage recipes that it can prepare. The data manager (1)        keeps track in the database (6) of all the events that occur        with each data control and acquisition module (3), said        information is used by applications that are run on a mobile        device (4) and a fixed device (5) to generate statistical        information of display and of the beverage preparation machine,        including data control and acquisition modules (3) use behavior.        These modules send messages to the data manager (1) which        registers them in the database (6), containing time of operation        and activations counting information of each element of the        beverage preparation machines remaining registered when a fault        occurs, which serves as statistical information for reports and        predictive maintenance alarms, upon keeping an operation history        of each control element. A maintenance alarm is generated and        sent to the maintenance manager when an element nears the        average time between faults or the average number of activations        before a fault that is registered in the history that exists for        said element in the database.

In the case of application in coffee grinding and infusion machines orcoffee makers (7) where it coexists with prepared product displaycontainers (8) and the water supply device (9), on using the coffeemaker (7), the incorporated data control and acquisition module (3)detects that there is a display container (8) through the wirelessreading of the data tag (14) as well as determining the correspondingrecipe to prepare to refill said container, it verifies that it alreadyhas water at the calibrated temperature, verifies the existence of asupply of water checking the water supply device (9) and starts thecommunication sequence with the data manager (1) in order to check whichrecipe it must prepare to serve said container and what quantity ofproduct it must prepare. Once the preparation has concluded, the datacontrol and acquisition module (3) sends a notice of the end of thesequence to the data manager (1), which generates a record whichincludes the date and time of preparation, the quantity and the recipein the database (6), assigns an identification code to the preparationthat has just started its display, the code of the detected displaycontainer (8), on reading by proximity the data tag (14), the geographiclocation of the point of sale where the preparation was done and sends amessage to its display on the data control and acquisition module (3)incorporated to said display container (8) that shows on the freshnessscreen (12) a text message that indicates the freshness of the beverage,the type of beverage and in its case if the product that it contains hasrun out and sends another alarm message to the message center (2) thatemits an alarm sound and shows the point of sale personnel a text thatindicates to them that the following task is to place the displaycontainer (8) in its service location.

The display container (8) has a data tag (14) for its identification andincorporates a data control and acquisition module (3) that has atemperature sensor (12), a liquid level sensor (13) and a freshnessscreen (11), which periodically obtains a reading from said sensors, andtakes count of the expiration time according to the last preparationrecord that was sent to it by the data manager (1). When the displaycontainer (8) is activated, it starts the communication sequence withthe data manager (1) checking if there is information pending deliveryto it, if a record exists on the database (6) of a beverage preparationthat still hasn't reached the pre-established expiration time in therecipe, the container will show on its freshness screen a text thatindicates that the beverage is still fresh or that it has alreadyexpired in the case that the beverage preparation has already reachedthe end of its pre-established freshness time in the recipe. When thedata control and acquisition module (3) determines that the beverage hasrun out or expired due to no longer having the pre-establishedtemperature, it sends a message to the data manager (1) and displays onthe freshness screen (11) a text that indicates that the beverageexpired, communicating with the data manager (1) that registers saidevent in the database (6), storing in said record the correspondinginformation to the way in which the product display cycle of saiddisplay container (8) ended and it sends an alarm message to the messagecenter (2) that emits an audible notice and shows the point of salepersonnel a text that indicates to them that the following task is toprepare again the beverage for the indicated display container (8). Thedisplay container (8) may not include the level sensor and in thisembodiment its data control and acquisition module (3) infers the levelof beverage based on the temperature behavior that the temperaturesensor (12) registers, keeping track of the last fifteen temperaturemeasurements in said display container (8) in such a way that if adifference greater than 4 degrees exists between the first and lasttemperature reading the data acquisition module (3) determines that thecontainer has been empty.

The water supply device (9) emits a message to the data manager (1) whenit detects that there isn't sufficient water to continue, which promptsthe data manager (1) to register the event in the database (6) and sendsan alarm message to the message center (2) which emits an audible signaland shows on the screen a text indicating to the point of sale personnelthat the following task is to ensure the water supply for the beveragepreparation machines. Also, the data manager (1) sends to the datacontrol and acquisition module (3) incorporated to the coffee maker (7)a command to detain the intake of water and, once the supply of water isre-established, it sends another command to restart the intake of water.Once the data control and acquisition module (3) of the water supplydevice (9) detects that the supply was re-established, it sends amessage indicating this fact to the data manager (1) which registers theevent in the database (6) and in turn sends to the message center (2)that deletes the mentioned text.

The water supply device (9) detects cases of absence of water or thecurrent state of its operation, either if it's turned on or has beenturned off, it starts the communication session with the data manager(1) and sends said message to it, where the data manager registers inthe database (6). Also, the data manager (1) sends a message for displayin the message center (2) which will indicate to the point of salepersonnel that the pending task is to review the water supply.

The pending task messages shown in the message center (2) are alsoregistered by the data manager (1) in the database (6) and a count istaken of the time since they were shown in the message center (2), saidtime count has a pre-established limit on the data manager (1) that, ifno message is had from the data control and acquisition module (3) thatindicates that said task has been carried out, the data manager (1) willsend a message to the mobile device (4) and/or to the fixed device (5)of the point of sale personnel supervisor. In the same way, onregistering that the task has been attended to, a message is sent againto the point of sale personnel supervisor's mobile device (4) and/or thefixed device (5) indicating that said task has been completed.

Operation of Assisted Calibration Mode:

This mode of operation is the application that the personnel authorizedto calibrate the beverage preparation machines can run using a mobiledevice (4). Once said authorized person starts the application andselects assisted calibration mode, said application sends to the datamanager (1) the identification of the point of sale that the authorizedperson selected on the application menu, checks on the database (6) thelist of beverage preparation machines registered in said point of saleand shows them on the mobile device (4) for the authorized person toselect on the application which beverage preparation machine shall besubjected to the calibration process. Once the beverage has beenselected, the mobile device (4) sends to the data manager (1) theselection, which makes a delivery of a code to the data control andacquisition module (3) found in the selected machine, said module showsthe code on the screen of the beverages machine for the authorizedperson to capture and/or scan in the field of the application that isrun on their mobile device (4), with which it is confirmed that thecalibration of the correct beverage preparation machine will be started.Once the code is confirmed, the mobile device (4) application shows tothe authorized person on its screen a button that on being touchedstarts the dosing process of the first ingredient is as previouslyestablished followed by a pause for the authorized person to obtain theweight of the supplied ingredient capturing it in a field in the mobiledevice (4) application, then the mobile device (4) sends it to the datamanager (1) which registers it in the database (6) and sends it to thedata control and acquisition module (3) found in the selected machine,with which said module determines the dosing system's weight per secondof said ingredient, that will be used in future beverages preparationsaccording to the requested recipe that uses said ingredient. Thisprocess is repeated for each ingredient that the beverage preparationmachine uses. On carrying out this process with all the ingredients, themobile device (4) application notifies the authorized person that it hasconcluded and sends the completion message for the calibration of thebeverages preparation equipment in question to the data manager (1), thelatter sends in turn a message to the data control and acquisitionmodule (3) of said equipment so that calibration mode ends and it entersinto normal operation mode. On completing the calibration routine, thedata manager (1) registers in the database (6) the date and time of saidevent, the name of the person who carried it out, the point of saleidentification, the calibrated equipment calibration and the weightsthat were captured during the process.

Dynamic Production:

When the preparation of a beverage is started, the data control andacquisition module (3) of the beverage preparation machine in questionobtains a reading of the display container's (8) data tag and sends amessage to the data manager (1) which determines, through checking apreviously trained artificial intelligence service, the quantity ofingredients that will be used in said preparation based on the detecteddisplay container (8), the time of day, checking the current weather onweb services and the sales history registered in the database (6) forsaid point of sale, with which it sends a message to the data controland acquisition module (3) of said beverages preparation equipment withthe required quantity data, with which the preparation that is pouredinto the display container is started.

Inventory Order Control:

Based on the consumption history and the stocks of supplies registeredfor a period of inventory assortment, the data manager (1) determinesthe quantity to replenish for the following delivery and sends a messageof required quantities to the order manager.

Equipment Inventory Location:

When a data control and acquisition module (3) is turned on it starts achecking sequence of the unique network identification number or MACAddress of the point of sale, that is then sent to the data manager (1),that in turn checks in the database (6) the existence of said uniquenetwork identifier to verify the point of sale in which it is located;if said point of sale is different to the previous the data manager (1),said data control and acquisition module carries out the change to thenew point of sale where said data control and acquisition module (3) isassigned.

We claim:
 1. Support method for the management of beverages bars inpoints of sale connected to a data manager, comprising: identifying adisplay container associated with a beverage preparation machine througha data tag placed in the display container; determining preparation of arecipe of a beverages through a first data control and acquisitionmodule coupled to the beverage preparation machine, according toinformation associated with the data tag of the display container;counting time elapsed from start of the preparation of the beveragerecipe; emitting an alarm from a second data control and acquisitionmodule coupled to the display container to a message center, the alarmincluding messages for a need for a new preparation of the beveragerecipe if content of the display container has expired depending on thetime elapsed or is empty due to consumption of the beverage; and sendinga notification to a mobile device if the messages have not been attendedto in a given period of time.
 2. Support method as in claim 1, andfurther comprising measuring the content of the display containerindirectly through temperature measurement of the content.
 3. Supportmethod as in claim 2, and further comprising: keeping track of a numberof temperature measurements in the display container; and determiningthe display container is empty when a selected temperature differenceexists between a first temperature measurement and a last temperaturemeasurement.
 4. Support method as in claim 1, and further comprising:checking the data manager for historical sales history of the beveragerecipe, time of day and weather data; and preparing a quantity of thebeverage depending on the information obtained from the data manager. 5.Support method as in claim 1, and further comprising: obtaininginformation periodically from a sensor; and displaying the informationderived from the sensor on a screen coupled to the display container. 6.Support method as in claim 1, and further comprising registering in adatabase stored in a data manager information comprising the preparationof the beverage, the time elapsed, and information from the sensor andthe alarm.
 7. Support method as in claim 1, and further comprising 8.Support method for the management of beverages bars in points of saleaccording to claim 1, and further comprising generating statisticalreports and predictive maintenance alarms.
 9. Support method for themanagement of beverages bars in points of sale according to claim 1, andfurther comprising registering information corresponding to faults. 10.Support method for the management of beverages bars in points of saleaccording to claim 1, and further comprising, before the preparation ofthe beverage recipe, verifying quantity and temperature of availablewater in a water supply device coupled to the beverage preparationmachine.
 11. Support method for the management of beverages bars inpoints of sale according to claim 1, and further comprising transmittingall or part of the third information to the second data control andacquisition module of the display container, and showing the thirdinformation on the screen coupled to the display container.
 12. Supportmethod for the management of beverages bars in points of sale accordingto claim 1, and further comprising determining an origin of the alarmthat indicates the need for a new preparation and registering the originas a display cycle termination.
 13. Support method for the management ofbeverages bars in points of sale according to claim 1, and furthercomprising updating pending messages or commands.
 14. Support method forthe management of beverages bars in points of sale according to claim 1,and further comprising showing in the message center lack of supplies.15. Support method for the management of beverages bars in points ofsale according to claim 1, and further comprising: starting anapplication on a mobile device and selecting an assisted calibrationmode; identifying a point of sale corresponding to a location of thebeverage preparation machine; selecting an option corresponding to acalibration of the beverage preparation machine; sending a code from thedata manager to the data control and acquisition module coupled to thebeverage preparation machine; showing a sent code on a screen coupled tothe beverage preparation machine; capturing the sent code on the mobiledevice; showing on a screen of the mobile device means to authorize thecalibration of the beverage preparation machine; dosing each ingredientseparately, consecutively, with a pause time period in between onedosage and another, in which the pause time allows a weight of eachdosed ingredient to be obtained; capturing the weight of each dosedingredient on the application of the mobile device; sending the weightfrom the mobile device to the data control and acquisition module;calculating the weight per second to use in future beveragepreparations; showing a message of calibration process conclusion on ascreen of the mobile device; sending a signal to the beveragepreparation machine to exit the assisted calibration mode and enternormal operation mode; registering a date and time of the end of theassisted calibration mode in the database and the weight to the beveragepreparation machine, the point of sale and to an operator that performedthe calibration.
 16. Support method for the management of beverages barsin points of sale according to claim 1, and further comprisingdetermining quantities of supplies to replenish in the beveragepreparation machine in accordance with a consumption history and stocksof the supplies in the beverage preparation machine, and sending thequantities to an order manager.
 17. Support method for the management ofbeverages bars in points of sale according to claim 1, and furthercomprising the following steps every time the beverage preparationmachine is turned on: checking an identification number associated to anetwork of the point of sale; sending the identification number to thedata manager; checking existence of the identification number in adatabase of the point of sale; corroborating the association of theidentification number of the point of sale with a data control andacquisition module identifier; and associating the identification numberof the point of sale with a data control and acquisition moduleidentifier if these are not associated.